Chapter 324
One Who Would Close the Door is the 324th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail. The Rogue of the future explains that the Eclipse Gate can be used to travel through time as well as defeat the 10,000 approaching Dragons. Happy that Rogue appears to be on their side, the rescue team is then shocked when Rogue suddenly attacks Lucy, stating that he came back to kill her for getting in the way of the Dragons' destruction. Summary Natsu and the rest of his team question the appearance of the Rogue from the future, mostly why he has used the Eclipse Gate to come back at all. Concurrently, Hisui and Arcadios also discuss Rogue's motives, with Hisui still believing that he too, like Lucy, came back to protect the future. As Jellal, Meredy and Ultear continue towards Mercurius, Hisui states that she is still going to do as the future Rogue said, and open the Eclipse Gate to save her people. Back in the catacombs of the castle, Rogue explains that he returned to open the Eclipse Gate, and that the Gate itself has two main functions: it can transport people through time, or be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Continuing, he states that the Gate can be used to destroy the 10,000 approaching Dragons and save the country. Realizing he too came back to aid then, Natsu and his team relax, happy that Rogue has an apparent solution for the future. However, Rogue states that things aren't that simple, voicing that he came from seven years in the future, where barely any of humanity still survives, moreover that the Eclipse Gate is no longer powerful enough in that time to drive back the Dragons. Continuing, he claims that the Dragons must be destroyed here and now, before they become powerful enough to surpass the Eclipse. When Natsu replies that they should just use the Eclipse to blast the Dragons, Rogue states that when that very idea was tried in his time, somebody got in the way and shut the Eclipse Gate. The others question this, and when Rogue states that he purposely came back in time to kill that person and stop their interference, the group wonder if they could find and reason with the person, who should be willing to cooperate. Rogue though, disagrees, believing that their fate is secured and that the person will close the gate no matter what, unless they are dead. Natsu seems a bit disbelieving, and asks who the person is, with Rogue revealing them to be none other than Lucy. Angered, the man from the future moves to attack her. Before Lucy has time to dodge the spell, her future counterpart dives in front of her, taking the blow straight on. Badly bleeding and falling to the ground, the future Lucy strains to say that she would never turn against anyone and try to close the Gate, with Lucy believing her. Revealing that she took Rogue's hit to protect both of them, seeing as if Lucy died, she, as her future, would die too, the future Lucy quickly asks to see Lucy's Fairy Tail mark, smiling sadly as she closes her eyes and is finally still. As all of the Fairy Tail Mages present begin to cry over her, Rogue notes that the future Lucy had no recollection of closing the Gate. When Lucy defiantly states that she will never close the Gate and Rogue angrily screams back that she will, the Sabertooth Mage is attacked by Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer crying alongside his comrades as he vows to fulfill future Lucy's last words and protect the future. Characters in Order of Appearance Battles & Events *Natsu Dragneel vs. Rogue Cheney (Future) (started) Magic, Spells, and Abilities used Magic used * ** ** Spells used *Shadow Dragon's Blade * Abilities used * *Hand-to-Hand Combat Navigation